Theories of a Dead Man
by SciGirl214
Summary: One man can only live with so much pressure. She was his clarity in a world shrouded in deceit. It was not meant to happen, he knew better. Uchiha Itachi was many things; a murderer, a saint, a martyr. But in the eyes of the enemy, could he be loved?
1. Chapter 1

**Theories of a Dead Man**

_"Becoming a Monster"_

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Silence was never so dense as the tension between two people speaking of unmentionable secrets. Above me stood Konoha's Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. The darkness of his shadow shrouded my kneeling form beneath the blue moonlight. The space between was so thick that it must have obstructed the airflow to my brain, causing me think that all of this would be possible.

"Itachi, you have a choice in this. Either you can take this responsibility onto yourself, or another ANBU operative can take your place." Our aged Hokage bowed his head slightly, obviously troubled by his own remarks. "You have enough on your plate as it is. The decision is entirely yours entirely."

Compared to the other crucial matters currently consuming my life, this latest mission mattered little. The Akatsuki would not want me to have lingering ties to Konoha. It was my job to gain information on a particular family. They were not considered a clan, their numbers were whittled to a mere six. A father, mother, four sons and a daughter. Their daughter was thirteen, graduating in a few months with the rest of her class. It would be difficult to convince the older brothers to talk, so she was my best bet. Teenaged girls were easy to manipulate. It would take a few months of observation to decide the right way to approach this mission. Timing was everything to women.

All I knew of this girl was that she was born into the Kyusho family bloodline, she is a thirteen-year-old chuunin. The Kyusho had never been a danger to Konoha before, so it came as a shock when I was asked to hunt down and kill these people without mercy. Throughout the wars, many extended members of the Kyusho family lost their lives protecting the Village, leaving only one direct blood relative, Gouken Kyusho. Gouken was a championed commander and wartime councilor for the Hokages, he was well respected within Konoha and was seen as a model citizen who moved from serving his Village as a shinobi to retiring with respect in his advanced years. To kill this man's sons was not something I wanted to do. Ruining his life was an unfortunate side effect of the constant state of unease within Konoha. When it came down to the happiness of one versus the safety of many, that one malignant cancer cell was isolated, removed or destroyed. Even now, I had no idea what they did or why they deserved this kind of betrayal by the village they'd given their lives for; but it wasn't my right to know. Regardless of the logic, I had to do what would save a larger number of people.

The Kyusho had only seven living relatives. From the small bit of available information on their abilities, I learned that they have a kekkei genkai. There was no written description of what their blood trait comprised of, but it was rumored to be something malevolent. It was thought that they could end countless lives without a passing glance. So as a precaution, the commander's sons needed to be exterminated. All of them. Which is where this kunoichi's role came into play.

It would be arrogant to assume that any female would change her life at my request. Yet, in the same breath, it would be ignorant to undermine my capability as a shinobi. Every second of my life was a behavioral study of those around me. Without my knowledge, or consent, every infinitesimal detail of every second was filed into organized subdivisions deep within the gyri of my brain. Little pieces of paper written in permanent ink indicated where I could reach each each thought and observation for utilization in plans or strategy.

From the time we are born we are indoctrinated with this concept that knowledge was important above all; it kept people safe and alive. But I defy this concept. Adversely, knowledge could also cause suffering and death for the ones you love.

Studying your enemy will ultimately allow you to destroy them. Yet conversely, it could force you to understand their view of reality. To understand a monster is to become one.

Which is exactly why this mission had been a difficulty for me to overcome. It was one thing to eliminate your target's family, another entirely to kill your own. I'd be throwing myself into the proverbial snake pit by committing myself to this for the remainder of my short life.

One option was for me to watch on the sidelines as my beloved village was thrown into civil war by an Uchiha coup d'etat. Other nations would seize the moment of weakness to invade, throwing the world into another Great Shinobi War. I'd already survived one, I did not need to see another. Countless lives would be inevitably lost as my clan rebelled in an attempt to overthrow Konoha and the Hokage.

Or, I could go through with the mission at hand and delve into a darkness deeper than the sky as my family's blood flooded the streets by the end of my own blade. This choice would give me the opportunity to save one life. The only life that mattered, that of my younger brother, Sasuke.

If he survived the slaughter, he would have to live under the false belief that his older brother was a cold-blooded murderer. This knowledge would cause his suffering and my eventual death. Further displaying the fickle nature of knowledge and reality. Whatever one chooses to believe is what encompasses their reality. Through Sasuke's eyes I would become a lifelong opponent. I'd become the obstacle for him to overcome throughout his entire life. He'd hate me, scorn me, and wish death upon me, but he would become strong, he would stay safe. My innocent little brother was destined to become an avenger; someone who needed to kill an opponent to soothe the gaping wound in his heart. Somehow, this was exactly what I wanted.

A world in which I had to kill my seven-year-old brother was inconceivable and unacceptable.

After weeks of heart tearing deliberation, my decision was finalized. By choosing to end my own clan, I was making countless choices all in one breath. As Akatsuki, I would obtain intel on the organization. Dropping signals from time to time so the Third could better protect and prepare Konoha civilians and ninja alike. This decision also comprised another, lesser, yet also unforgivable mission.

Manipulating a someone to speak freely about her family just so that I could ultimately kill her siblings was deplorable. Especially when she would just have to die in the end anyway.

Few deaths were a tragedy, many were a mere statistic.

Reality is a vacillating creature that gives you many choices. Whether you dig your grave in truths or lies is entirely left to the individual.

Once my time with the Akatsuki began, I'd work on the second segment of Sarutobi's arrangement.

No one knew his name. No one knew his face. They only knew that he needed to die to save the village that would soon ostracize me for the actions I was forced to take on my own clan.

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**Hey ya'll this is my first fanfic, reviews please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Theories of a Dead Man**

_"Learn a Little, Die a Little"_

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"Helloo? Earth to Itachi!"

Black eyes with short curls. Hina was my girlfriend.

"Quit ignoring me!"

She was quite annoying. Perhaps not so much annoying as she was needy.

"Can you at least pretend to like me? It's not that hard to throw me a smile every once in a while."

It was that hard. I was in the midst of pushing her away, just like everyone else. She was beautiful, but as I'd learned over the past few weeks, she was an idiot.

She only cared about the superficial world, how people viewed her and what other girls thought of her. For the most part, she was envied for her beauty, it was part of her game to have a boyfriend on her arm at all times. Right now, I was that fool.

"Hina, I have to get back to work."

"You're always working, you never make time for me. It's like you don't even care!"

And she was right, I didn't care. At least that's what I told myself. For the past few days I tried honing in on her most irritating habits to break the bond I felt toward her, thus far it was working.

"You know that's not true. I have some things to take care of, when I get back we can talk." It was an empty promise.

Her rosy lips kissed mine chiefly before storming away. Before today I would have felt compelled to follow her, make things better between us, but when I woke up this morning I had something more important on my mind.

It was a Monday. An insignificant day where my schedule was virtually clear minus one, exhausting mission. Today was the day I began my observations on a stranger. Tear drops in the ocean would be easier to find than a nameless, faceless person in Konoha. Holding a book out in front of me, I scanned the ever flowing crowd of people for the same white hair I could see in the picture Lord Hokage provided in the file. There were several key factors in this case. One was their names; all of the names on their files were erased. Supposedly the second oldest brother was an important figure. There was little information on him, not even a picture. Supposedly he had pull in the politics of Konoha so it was not much of a surprise that their names were all blacked out. If I could, I would probably remove Sasuke's name from the database as well for fear of this exact situation.

Sasuke asked for me to help with his shuriken training earlier. I had to go searching for a potential target rather than spend precious time with my little brother. This was the part that I hated most, losing out on the little time I had with the people I loved most. Though this did help my cover, making me seem more distant and hateful.

The early morning hours ticked by in the heart of Konoha. That was where most people spent their days. Armed with only a blurry picture of a plain girl, I was expected to find her, track her and eventually end her life. It was my assumption that a female was bound to end up on the main street at some point to go shopping or meet with friends. Actively searching was of no use in a population this size. Running around aimlessly would only waste my time, eventually every person in the Village had to go food shopping, so I waited on a bench across from the market, pretending to read.

The sun's burning rays fell over the back of my neck, frying the skin there, I shrugged to feel how red I was turning, it wasn't too bad. Scanning the scene around me, there was no one who matched the description. Once my entire morning was wasted, I decided to head back home to find something more useful to do until I could think of a better strategy. Pulling open the door to my room, I picked up a new book and began walking over to the main gate of the Uchiha compound.

The sun overhead began to peak. Bright light threatened to blind me as I tried looking at the pages in my hand, they were being masked by one of my favorite books so no passersby could see that I was studying a file. To others it would look like I was glaring at it the pages in my hand, when in reality the sun beating against the white paper was glaring at me, causing me to squint my eyes.

Over by the main gate of the Uchiha compound was where I spotted them for the first time.

My cousin, Uchiha Arashi, was walking with her head held high as anyone from our pretentious clan. All around were the dark haired, dark eyed, dark souls of the Uchiha. The only thing that deviated from the monochrome monotony was a spark of pearlescent white as it bopped through the foot traffic to keep up with Arashi.

For most people, when introduced to a new person, they remember a face, or eyes. Hands or hair. Their laugh or lips, if they were particularly attractive.

But for some strange reason I memorized every contour of her sleek, white skull crowned with equally white hair. It was such stark contrast with its invariably dark surroundings that couldn't keep from staring, along with many others on the street who found the odd color fascinating. The nonreactions of several other Uchiha told me that she must frequent the clan's headquarters.

That finely shaped head balanced delicately atop her neck as if made from fine porcelain by a master of the craft. The way it held that long mess of pearlescent hair as it bounced in a low knot made me worry that it might teeter off of her shoulders and shatter to the ground in front of all of these people. The knot containing her long hair allowed me to see the back of her head, the soft roundness of her jaw, but not her face. Maybe I would be unable to recognize her eyes, nose, or mouth in a few more days, but I would always remember the shape of her porcelain head moving through the sea of onyx Uchiha.

It was unusual to find people within the compound who were not in some way related to the clan. In fact, they were generally looked down upon. Apparently, she was unaware of that unspoken, unwritten rule.

Pushing off of the wall, I trailed the pair. They stopped at Arashi's home then made their way back to the main drag toward the gate so they could leave. What really caught my attention was that this girl did not seem to understand social situations the way that others did. She walked differently, as if her feet weighed more than her body. If something got in her way she would probably tumble to the ground. Small things like this made me wonder why the chuunin exam was so easy. There were already too many under qualified chuunin, Konoha didn't need another.

Screams reverberated through the warm air making my ears want to bleed, raising the fine hairs behind my neck. I couldn't find the origin of the high-pitched squeal, but the victim sounded young, like a child.

Choked sobs slowed to a cooing giggle then a gummy laugh. Locating the offending person, I realized that it was a baby around the age of two. Across from the little dark haired boy was the white haired girl in a crouch, her hands huddled in front of her face. At first I assumed she must have scared him.

Fingers wiggling over her ears, I realized quickly that she was making faces at him, turning tears to smiles. Others on the street stared at her as they walked by, shooting dirty looks at the girl, she ignored them like a professional. The iced porcelain girl held out a gentle hand allowing the little boy to swat at it like a kitten would at a feather. She made faces to keep him from crying again. His mother smiled at the girl warily. Behind her, standing tall, Arashi rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend's strange behavior. I wrote on the corner of her file some quick notes that could help my cause.

She behaved as if no one else's opinion mattered. Other's feelings didn't seem to cross her mind, even as people glared she paid them no mind. Normally, when people had a problem in the Uchiha clan, they were expected to fix it themselves. Such as; their child screaming in public. The mother of that child would never have asked for assistance, it was expected that she would have brought him home to alleviate the awkward stares. Assistance was given to those who truly needed it, but the Uchiha were too proud of a people to ask for it. Though I could still only see the back of her head, I could tell that she was still trying to make the child laugh. It was probably an act, to make her seem more approachable.

Before the two left, the white haired girl showed the baby how to give a high five, which he picked up on quickly. Continuing at an ambling walk, they made a turn toward the main gate of the compound. People stared at the odd looking pair as they passed, their eyes connected with my cousin's for the most part, likely wondering why she was spending time with this non-Uchiha. These days, outsiders tried not to associate with the Uchiha unless coerced in some way. We came off as arrogant because of our visual acuity, and as a general rule, we were all too prideful regarding our heritage. Civilians of Konoha saw us as a dangerous threat to their peaceful lives and I couldn't make myself disagree.

Peeking over the top of my book, I watched the girl stumble on her own feet, catching herself just before crashing to the ground with a small birdlike chirp of embarrassment. Without lying to myself, I had to admit one thing. She had the simple life I wanted for my brother, an easy life with no impossible decisions. I'd already made the choice to become a thankless martyr for Konoha. This included irrevocably destroying this girl's simple life too. I wanted to believe that she was pure evil, but judging by only a few minutes of observations I could tell that she was not quite the killing type. The thought passed my mind just as she held out a hand for an inchworm as it dropped from a tree in front of her face. Arashi shrieked and slapped the little green thing from her hand, sending it flying into the bushes. The girl's shoulders softened, not bothering to fight with Arashi over something so insignificant.

Compared to my cousin's taller dark haired frame, my target looked like an ice apparition walking along the streets of Konoha. Where Arashi was dark, the smaller girl was light; where the one wore black, the other wore color. Their footsteps dragged to a halt under a thin pine, my cousin toss her head back with a regal laugh. Then, the white haired girl looked over her shoulder, eyes falling directly on mine. It gave me the smallest opportunity to memorize her face.

Round face and ivory skin, just like the photo. The frosted skin I'd been expecting, but her eyes were truly haunting. The picture didn't do them justice. Electric winter blue completed the puzzle; she must be some kind of ice demon. She looked at me skeptically then shrugged back to my cousin with a dramatically doubtful smirk then stuck her tongue out. Leaned against the compound's concrete wall, I made myself look back to the book between my hands so she couldn't suspect anything. Sun's rays heated the stone behind my back, releasing a few knots in my shoulders. There was nothing suspicious about reading in public on a beautiful day like today.

Another sound chirped through the noises of this busy street. They were just beyond the walls of our small, disconnected section of Konoha. The white demon tackled Arashi softly, a hug. Within her blue eyes glistened the dull shine of insincerity and disappointment.

Hiding my face beneath the wide collar of my shirt, I brushed them as if in a rush, trying to listen in on their conversation. Neither looked at me, all I could see were the head motions of whatever lecture my cousin threw at the white haired girl who simply rolled her eyes without a care.

Reading their lips, I realized they were speaking of a chuunin from their graduating class, Kita Hiroto. I remembered seeing him with my cousin only a few days ago as he slunk away into the night, leaving my cousin a crying mess. The two were supposedly dating.

A dejected wave overtook the girl's features at the mention of the boy's name.

There was a dull ache in my chest, reminding me of the incurable illness that bore black holes through my lungs. A cough burned my lungs, I tried holding it in, but it hurt so much sometimes that I needed to let some of the blood out by coughing. Of course, there ways to cure cancer, medical ninja are good at what they do, but I didn't want anyone to know. If anyone knew about my sickness, they might try to say that it drove me to do the things I was assigned to do. There might be a subsection of Knoha that felt that I was merely a sick kid who needed help. I didn't want that.

When I arrived home later in the evening, there were two dark haired girls at my door with arms folded.

"And where the hell have you been?" Hina demanded in her shrill soprano.

"Oh no you don't bitch, I get him first." Arashi rolled her loose sleeves, pushing Hina away by the face. "What the hell Itachi! You promised, no you _swore_ that you wouldn't take that stupid mission."

"I made no such promise."

"This mission is mine, you get that? I've been working on the Kyusho family for years, you heard me, years. I know more about them than you ever could. Why did you take it! You knew I was the next option if you refused!" Arashi's nearly flawless face was snarled in anger.

She was right. I was supposed to turn it down, but I couldn't let my easily distracted cousin take on something that could get civilians killed. She was too much of a risk taker for something like this.

"Huh?" Hina's heart shaped face looked from Arashi to me then back again. "Kyusho, like, Mizoko?"

All eyes flashed to Hina. "You know, the big dude with all the tattoos? Blonde, tall and sexy?" She winked at Arashi who's face told me something that I really didn't want to know.

"Mind your own business, Miz isn't like his brother." Her eyes pleaded with mine, begging me not to say anything about it. Later, once Hina left, I would question her further on the matter.

"Do you want to come in, or would you prefer standing outside when it starts raining?" I looked to the sky, dark gray clouds knit heavily with rain hung low in the sky.

I opened the door for the girls and they took off their shoes. Mother was already sleeping, and so was Sasuke. My father was nowhere to be seen, probably working late.

"So Hina, what's your deal? Why are you so mad?"

"Itachi is seeing someone behind my back, I swear, he always says he's busy then I'll see him around town doing nothing. It's just ridiculous!"

"Oh please. Itachi would never do such a thing. He's a lover not a fighter."

"I guess so," Hina scoffed, "Tell me you don't think Hiroto is fooling around. I saw him walking another girl home yesterday…"

The two went on and on about the details of their menial lives. Boy problems. Thank gods I didn't take an interest in the social world. It was all too involved.

"What about you?" Arashi aimed her question directly at me, giving me no chance of escape, no way to pretend that I was listening.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

She rolled her eyes, "do you think that girls should be allowed to sleep around as much as guys do? I think I already know your answer."

This wasn't getting anywhere. "If you know my answer then why are you bothering to ask."

"For accuracy's sake." She grinned, showing off her perfectly straight, white teeth.

"What does it matter?"

"Hina wants to know if your cheating on her or not, and I told her that…"

I continued ignoring her as she went on about my girlfriend's opinions on useless matters. Instead, I made myself a sandwich.

"Well, I have to get home before my mom has a fit." Hina announced as if it was the most important detail of my day. "Next time you're not getting off so easy mister."

It was like a ball of tension left the premesis when she closed the door behind her. A moment of silence passed before Arashi burst out laughing.

"That girl is the most vapid bimbo I've ever met." She chided through her tears.

"She isn't too bad," I defended, as any boyfriend would.

"Oh really? Do you even listen when she talks or do you just watch her pretty lips move?"

Arashi was not stupid, she was very intelligent. I would even go so far as to say she would be one of the greatest challenges when that day eventually came. We were sparring partners as she learned to hone her sharingan.

"Mizoko. Tell me about him." I changed topic to avoid anymore pointless conversation.

"Right." She blushed, "I like him."

"You like a different boy every week, Arashi."

"No, Itachi, I think I _love_ him. Like, for real. He's perfect to me, but the thing is…" her voice trailed so I missed the last part.

"Repeat that?"

"He's eight years older than us."

Choking on my sandwich, I drowned it down with a glass of water before turning back to my cousin. "Twenty is to old for you, he is likely interested in things you're unwilling to give."

"Stop being my dad, I already have one of those." she accused through gritted teeth, "I just, I don't know, I don't want you to hurt him. Hiruko is the one you want, not Miz."

"What about their sister?"

"Don't you dare do anything to her. She's innocent in this whole thing."

I watched Arashi's humorous mood move to the sharp, foxlike face of a jounin. Dubious, I looked for any discrepancy in her expression. "What you're telling me is that Hiruko is the only one that you think should be killed."

She nodded once, stern faced. "Absolutely, talk to Lord Hokage about it. He'll tell you it's true."

"This is why you weren't offered the mission." I explained, "You're too close. There's a lot more to them than you seem to think."

"And what exactly do you know that I don't?" Her voice rose in anger, "All you have is a picture of my best friend, a blurred one might I add, and what? No description of Hiruko, right? Yeah, that's because he destroyed every last bit of information about their clan history. Destroyed it. He didn't just hide it, no, it's all gone. Trust me, I've looked."

That was somewhat shocking. Clan history and ancient documents were held as honorable, for someone to destroy their family's history was to destroy their core. He must hate his family if he chose to do such a thing. Although my cousin's outburst affirmed that she was indeed to close to the mission, it did open a few things for further questioning. I would speak to Sarutobi in the morning to see where he stands on the issue.

"Stop thinking so hard, it makes you look too old." Arashi laughed, punching my shoulder softly. "I'm training with the Kyusho brothers tomorrow, if you want to some it probably wouldn't look too suspicious."

"Hiruko will be there?"

"Nah, he doesn't live in Konoha anymore." she answered to flippantly as if this was common knowledge.

I didn't need to answer to convey that I wanted to know where he lived, she read through my curious gaze.

"The TI Corps took him when he was a kid, then he got fed up with them and went somewhere else to start some weird organization. I don't know what it's called so don't ask."

The next morning I went to Hiruzen looking for answers that he didn't seem willing to give.

"It's complicated. Hiruko is the only truly dangerous one, but within each of his siblings lives the potential for another version of him."The blue and white sugegasa covered his face, I could not see his eyes as he spoke which made me somewhat nervous, worried that what Arashi told me was true. That I was about to kill an innocent family for no reason. If there was only one target, Hiruko, I could dispatch him and leave the remaining family members alone.

"This probably hits home for you, seeing the position you're currently ingrained in, but we can not allow another Hiruko to exist."

"What has he done that's targeted his family for assassination?"

I tried not to question the Hokage's motives frequently, but in this case, he was right. It did hit home.

Lord Hokage took the edge of his sugegasa to cover his face further, unwilling to look at me as he spoke. He didn't like what he was saying any more than I did. A nervous note took his voice as he answered, "He has a newly evolved kekkei genkai unlike the others in the Kyusho family. It appeared when Gouken had a son with a woman who has her own, different, blood limit. It seems that this trait was a mutation, but there is potential that it could show up in the younger ones."

I wanted to ask what his blood limit was, but it was plain to see that even the Hokage had no idea what this man had in store. And with this knowledge I went back to following the ice apparition, seemingly none the wiser to the details of her family.

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**Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Theories of a Dead Man**

"_Reanimation"_

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After months of intricate details and written scripts of what to say, they all burned to ashes as white ceramic plates flew in every direction. I was almost embarrassed for her. Sasuke and I happened into a cafe on the shadier end of Konoha. My excitable little brother saw tomatoes behind the counter and rushed to get them, knocking her legs out from under her. She dropped hard. I didn't have the time to mull over this girl's foolishness. From my months of research I concluded that she couldn't care less about her physical body, if the half dozen plates in her arms shattered, she would never forgive herself for wasting her friends' money.

Sasuke shouldered her hip and she dropped to the dirt hard and fast. I chose to save the flatware. I didn't feel bad, there is only so much time within a moment even for me.

One eye closed from a small wince as she rubbed her back. A beige scarf covered her upper body, a three-quarter sleeve pale blue shirt matched well with a long skirt that crumpled around her thighs, showing that she was wearing white pants, too. I guess when you have four brothers and a famous shinobi father you find yourself well concealed.

She apologized slowly, enunciating each word, eyes apologetically bleary. "I. Am. So. Sorry."

I smiled a little, "don't worry about it." My hands were full, so I crouched low and offered her the only available appendage, my elbow.

From the ground she looked up at me, pure white skin tinted pink from utter humiliation. "You really didn't have to do that. I'm so, so sorry. I'm the worst."

'The worst' was certainly an exaggeration, 'completely absurd' would better describe the situation.

"Sorry about that, my little brother can be a bit rambunctious at times." I nodded my head toward the black haired boy who was currently running around, chasing a kitten, grabbing at its tail to elicit a loud screach. I laughed to myself remembering the game I concocted for him as a kid to keep him out of my hair while I was doing business. The girl in front of me was completely enthralled by my laugh. This was going to be easy. I had to remember that she did not know me the way I knew her so I introduced myself. "I'm Uchiha Itachi. I don't think we've met, what year did you graduate?"

Her face crumbled, embarrassed. "Oh, I just graduated this year. What about you?" Her voice was not high like most girls. It was a high alto with the smallest rasp. Probably a terrible singer. "I'm Kyusho Katsue, by the way. But people like to call me Kat for short."

That was not going to happen. I couldn't refer to my target by a nick name, it would only make me feel like she could be considered a friend. Her white hand wrapped around my arm so I could pull her to her feet. "Pleasure to meet you, Katsue."

Another exaggerated expression morphed her features, she didn't like being called by her full name. That would be entertaining. The soft grip on my elbow didn't leave until I glanced down at the offending hand. Flustered by her own absentmindedness, she quickly folded her hands behind her back.

I brought the plates to the table only to receive dubious stares from her friends. Arashi was the only one to smile at my arrival. That is, until Sasuke pupped out from behind my back, then the girls cooed their approval.

"Sasuke, you should apologize." I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, motioning toward Katsue with a small nod. "In the future, try to avoid peoples' legs. Pretend that they're trees in the forest, when rushing to a mission you can't lose your footing, it will only slow you down."

Sasuke pouted up at me, "She lost her feet, I have better balance than a chuunin!" He stuck his tongue out at Katsue who didn't seem to notice as she spoke quietly with a green haired kunoichi to her left. A weary smile tugged my lips, he sought approval that I could never give.

Rather than ask again, I simply ignored him. He hated being ignored it always worked. He gave in to my wishes immediately.

"You should have been paying better attention," he pouted up at the pale girl reluctantly who looked to him with her lips pressed together to hold in a bout of laughter. Sasuke didn't like that either, glancing up at my upturned eyes he must have realized that telling someone that they need to pay attention is not the same as apologizing. My brother's eyes watched mine as he apologized, "Sorry for knocking you down." Then he ran off again.

Arashi leaped up and hugged my brother then me. I watched Katsue's eye's dull sadly in my peripheral vision. "What's up Itachi? Where have you been!"

Arashi blathered on about how we don't see each other enough as she dragged another chair over, overtly placing me right next to Katsue. I understood that she only meant to help, but eyes tightened in warning. If my over zealous cousin ruined this mission I'd get the heat for it, not her. This was exactly why she was not chosen for this mission. Her fiery black eyes flashed with understanding.

Sliding into the seat, Katsue's eyes followed, then, seeing that I was staring back, she pretended to count the boards in the ceiling. A pink blush fell over her cheeks and I suppose she decided that she needed to speak to this new Uchiha. "So, do you come here often?"

…Did she really just use a pickup line? I wanted to laugh at her, but I couldn't in the situation. I played it off as if the attempt was not weird at all. "Sasuke and I were actually only walking past. He saw Arashi and ran in to say hello, then got distracted." A small wrinkle appeared over her right eyebrow. "It seems everything worked out perfectly."

The muscles around her eyes tensed up, widening them slightly. Was it fear or nerves? I was willing to bet money that she was inexperienced speaking with boys.

After a few seconds she still didn't break out of her trance, I was worried that she might be using that strange kekkei genkai. "Are you alright?"

A quiet, exasperated sigh dropped from her mouth. "Yeah, I'm just even more embarrassed now. Not only did I trip on your brother, which is bad enough, but I kept you from getting home on time. Your parents must be worried."

I had to contain the scoff that threatened to insult my parents. It was not my mother I wished to disown, but my father. He was a great person to everyone _but_ his family. There was major pressure on me to spy on Konoha, but he didn't think I was doing enough. Nothing was ever enough.

"Really, it was nothing." I promised. Images of the file Lord Hokage gave me, I remembered the most dangerous of her brothers. "I've been wondering something, are you related to Kyusho_ Hiruko_?"

"Mm-hm," Bright eyes seemed to smile at the mention of her brother's name. "He's my older brother. Do you know him?"

"No, I've only heard of his accomplishments in the IT Corps. Although…" I tried to remember some detail from the file, "how old was he when he graduated the academy?"

Arashi pushed a cup of water into the back of my hand, chilling my skin. Ignoring Arashi was always the best way to handle her tantrums. She didn't like that I was given this mission over her since she had been close to the Kyusho family for years.

Eyes on the ceiling as if the answer might be written there, Katsue responded, "Nine, I think, but he's been MIA for a while now."

"Hm, he was only a little older than myself." Which was the truth. I wanted to see how much truth she was willing to part with in normal conversation. "Sasuke just started at the academy a few months ago, his grades look pretty impressive so far."

Some of the topics were banal such as: different types of tea, favorite colors, and our favorite places to eat. Other things she spoke of were fairly intriguing. Her family's Kyusho technique was fascinating. They were all able to manipulate vitals with precise chakra flow to their fingertips. If they used that ability in healing practices, perhaps their family wouldn't be viewed as an enemy.

Waving her arms around as if she were painting a picture, she tried to describe her last mission to Suna. As she said something relating to her oldest brother, Mizuko, her face dropped melodramatically as if she was highly distraught.

"You have a very animated face." I pointed out, it was something about her big eyes as compared to her sloped nose and round face. Then there were her eyebrows, they were permanently upturned, freezing a permanent expression of concern on her face. The size of her eyes made it look like she was always forgetting something important.

Her hand dropped behind her head and she smiled nervously, "Sorry, I'm not good at hiding my emotions."

From the corner of my eye I saw Sasuke yawn from his spot on my lap as he napped. I scratched the top of his head like a puppy then smiled at the girl beside me, "Don't apologize, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Some people can't express themselves at all, consider yourself lucky."

The two of us were really very dissimilar, with opposite tastes in food and fighting styles. Yet we were very similar in our love of books, and admiration of our siblings. One by one her friends left, leaving us there alone together. I briefly considered luring her away and killing her today, but if she was right and her brother was missing then I'd need to find him before ending her life.

She yawned, covering her mouth so I might not see that she has one tooth that did not perfectly align with the others, and I realized that it was time to go home.

"Do you live close by? I could walk you back." I offered quietly, hoping my tone wouldn't awaken my exhausted brother.

"It's a_ really_ far walk, I don't know if you'd be up to it."

"It's late, I'd hate to see you walk home alone." Her expression told me that she was being facetious.

After a short debate she decided to let me walk with her. Standing abruptly, she bounded five or six long strides to the stairs next to the restaurant's counter and pointed at the door above. I laughed a little, she lived on this end of Konoha, it was a shame that someone so sweet would live in a place like this. Grime blackened every surface of the apartment, the door was metal, propped open by a wooden stick. It surprised me that she wouldn't lock the doors, there were some unsavory places around here and a number of people who would steal everything without a second thought. Than I realized that I had just considered my target 'sweet' and dulled my own emotions toward the subject, thinking about how I would kill her instead to keep my mind from creating any bonds with her.

With Sasuke clinging to me like a starfish with his arms tight around my neck, asleep, I walked over to Katsue who still stood at the base of the stairs, "Will you be here again tomorrow?"

I'd expected an overly excited 'yes!' but what I saw instead was a deep sadness that overwhelmed her expression. Then as if on cue, she reached back and scratched the back of her head nervously, "Not tomorrow, but the day after. You know how it is, never ending missions. But I'm almost always here, I do live upstairs."

Not wanting her to think that I would be here the next day for certain, I turned away and took my brother home.

As I lay in bed I tossed restlessly, nightmares wreaked havoc on my mental status. Images of my family, my cousins, friends and brother, Hina. Dripping in crimson blood, deep lacerations streaked their fair skin. White eyes of the dead screamed at me, asking why, why did I kill them? Why was I born? Why didn't I repent for my deadly urges? My mother and brother took hold of me, grabbing at my clothes, tearing at the Uchiha symbol I adorned.

Then suddenly, as if by magic, their wounds sunk back into their flesh as a white hand appeared on my brother's shoulders. Vibrant blue eyes deeper than the ocean and unpolluted as a mountain creek burned holes in my vision. Contorting in pain, Katsue shriveled into a screaming mess of pain and suffering, as my family grew stronger and stronger. Sasuke smiled up at me, his wounds were gone. He was all right. Glancing back to the ghostly girl she was covered in blood as if she had absorbed every injury sustained by every Uchiha.

A twisting, unidentifiable pain chilled the spot over my heart. Without thinking, I shot to her side, taking one thin, frail wrist in my hand. The blood putrefied into black, then the grey of decay and she faded from existence. Tears fell from my eyes to the spot she once was, sobs wracked my body until I couldn't cry anymore. Nothing could console me, nothing else seemed to matter except that this innocent girl died for my family's sins.

I woke in a pool of my own sweat, my sheets stuck to my skin when I leaped out of bed. The first thing I did was wrap my shuriken and kunai sacks to my thigh and run out the door, ignoring the sweet chime of my mother's 'good morning' as she prepared breakfast for the family. Right now there was a more pressing matter. I needed to see her alive.

Her door was closed over, slightly ajar; I grew nervous that my worries from last night had come to fruition. That someone had broken in and hurt her. Silent as a shadow I navigated her cramped, dirty apartment. There were only two main rooms. You walk through the front door into a linoleum kitchen then, delineated by a change in flooring style, you walk into the main room. There was a wood floor with a green couch in front of a television on the floor, cords stuck out of the back like snakes crawling across the floor. On the floor, under the only window was her bed, a futon that sat not exactly square to the wall, four differently colored blankets scattered the floor around it like splotches of paint. But there was no Katsue. I glanced around and found a clock above the kitchen window over the sink. It was early; perhaps she already left for her mission.

Then I heard her voice. I followed the sound until I my ear was set against a door to the right just inside of the living room. She was talking to herself, arguing actually.

"Why are you such an idiot? You literally always do this." She let out a loud growl of frustration. "Arashi is going to be so mad if I don't get there soon. No, I just haaad to go ahead and sleep in. Ugh!"

She was alive, stupid, but alive. The doorknob jingled to announce that she was on her way out of the bathroom. Now I sat on her roof over looking the hazy smoke that filled the air in her area. I heard her door slam shut and watched her sprint toward the training areas. I pressed my palms to my eyes. This was not going to be as easy as I'd hoped.


End file.
